Fake Hacking: Putin Says US Spies May Have Hacked Dems

Reuters news agency reports today that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that US President Donald Trump ran a better presidential campaign than Hillary Clinton and US intelligence agencies could have easily faked Russia’s hacking of the Democratic Party. US intelligence officials have said Russia tried to interfere in the US election by hacking President Trump’s opponents. This charge has emboldened those wishing to cause political divisions and supposed outrage over whether President Trump had “improper ties” with Russia. It was not clear from the report what would or would not be considered “improper ties”.

Addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Putin said the hacking accusations were nothing more than “harmful gossip” which was damaging international relations and the global economy. He also said the idea that the hacking had reportedly been carried out from Russian IP addresses which constituted meaningful evidence of anything was absurd. He went on to say, “Where are the finger prints? IP addresses can be faked. Do you know how many specialists there are who can make it look as if your children sent something from your home IP address? They can fake anything and then accuse anyone. It’s not evidence.”